In Our Towns

HARTFORD - A man stole a car Tuesday from the parking lot of a Jamaican bakery in Hartford without realizing the owner had left his infant daughter in the back seat, police said.

Mikhail Melamud, 27, is charged with second-degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor and third-degree larceny.

Police also arrested the father of the 8-month-old infant, William Quinones, 24, who left the baby alone in the car with the engine running and the doors unlocked, police said. Officers also found he had powder and crack cocaine, police said.

Quinones is charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor, possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and interfering with police.

Quinones called a cellphone in the car and spoke with Melamud, who said he didn't know a baby was in the car when he stole it. He told Quinones his car and baby would be on Evergreen Avenue, police said.

Vice and narcotics officers on Evergreen Avenue overheard Melamud arguing with a woman about the stolen car and the baby. Minutes later, Quinones showed up. Both men were taken into custody.

Cars Vandalized

SOUTH WINDSOR - Police are investigating several instances of criminal mischief that occurred Monday and Tuesday nights. In each case people broke into cars by smashing windows with bricks, police said.

Nothing was taken from the cars and it appeared that there was no connection among the victims, police said Wednesday.

Police said they believed the incidents occurred between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Police suggest people park their cars in well-lit areas or leave the exterior lights on their homes illuminated.

Anyone who saw anything unusual or who has information is asked to call town police at 860-644-2551.

Handgun Stolen From Car

VERNON - Police are investigating a car burglary in which a 9mm handgun was stolen, Sgt. Paul Miffitt said Wednesday.

Police were investigating another incident at Country Wood Apartments, 6315 Talcottville Road, about 5 a.m. Wednesday when a man approached them and reported that the pistol had been stolen from a backpack in his unlocked car, Miffitt said. The man told officers he did not know whether the pistol was loaded. The stolen handgun was described as a Kahr Arms 9mm pistol.

Another car burglary at the nearby Woodmere apartment complex was reported about 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call Vernon police at 860-872-9126.

Robber Gets 5 1/2 Years

MANCHESTER - A Hartford man was sentenced Wednesday to 5 1/2 years in prison for robbing a woman at gunpoint outside a veterinary clinic in town two years ago.

Gregory Harvey of Farmington Avenue was sentenced in Superior Court in Manchester, where he had pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, criminal possession of a pistol and forgery charges Oct. 12. Six months of his prison term stemmed from his admission that he violated his probation for interfering with police when he was arrested in the robbery case last year.

On Dec. 15, 2005, Harvey held a gun to a woman who had been seeking treatment for her cat at the veterinary clinic at 156 Spencer St. He took her pocketbook and fled.

Lawrence Pekoske, whose last known address was on Walnut Street, Enfield, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery before Judge David Gold in Superior Court in Hartford. He faces up to 14 years in prison under a plea agreement with the state. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.

On July 23, Pekoske went into the Bank of America at 900 Enfield St., Enfield, wearing a mask, police and prosecutors said. He stuck a gun in the side of a customer, stole $2,000 from the bank and fled in an Enfield Dial-A-Ride vehicle. He had been driving the vehicle for the town's social services department, court officials said in July.

Police stopped him minutes later; the stolen money, gun and mask were found in the vehicle.

Lawrence Pekoske, whose last known address was on Walnut Street, Enfield, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery before Judge David Gold in Superior Court in Hartford. He faces up to 14 years in prison under a plea agreement with the state. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.